


Coughdrops

by smileybagel



Series: Candies and Sweaters [4]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cold/Flu Symptoms, Fix-It, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Moving On, Platonic Life Partners, Siblings, accepting death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-20
Updated: 2013-10-20
Packaged: 2017-12-29 21:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1010554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smileybagel/pseuds/smileybagel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raleigh is stuck with the common cold and he thinks it's a pretty shitty price to pay after saving the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Raleigh Becket sneezes.

He sneezes into a wadded up tissue and groans after, wiping his nose with a new tissue pulled from the pockets of his cargo pants. Mako side-eyes him as they walk down the hall to the main hangar, jotting down a quick note about his sneezing on the papers in her clipboard. Raleigh doesn't see this, as he falls into a bad coughing fit that has him doubled over with Mako rubbing his back soothingly.

His lungs feel like fire and it irritates his already sore throat, so he groans again and moves to lean against the cool metal of the walls. The temperature of the 'Dome's walls does wonders for the heat that seems to be radiating from his body and Raleigh sighs, happy and content. Mako comes up next to him and pokes his side with her ball-point pen, cocking her head to one side and looking up at him. He cracks open his eyes, which look bloodshot and sunken in, and groans in her direction. Mako is reminded of one of those undead creatures from the old horror movies Raleigh showed her.

"Go back to your room, _nii-san_. I can make the rounds on my own until Marshal Hansen is released from his meeting." Mako started calling him _nii-san_ after the big drop, after their drift had reached new levels down on the ocean floor. She knows tacking on the affectionate title wraps Raleigh around her finger even tighter, so she uses it to her advantage when Raleigh would rather be a stubborn child, like now. And it works, for a moment.

"But I promised I would help you-" He's interrupted by another coughing fit, his hands quickly going to cover his mouth as his lungs threaten to burst. Fire erupts in his chest again and Mako frowns.

"Alright, don't go to your room. Go to the medical bay instead, _nii-san_." Mako presses more emphasis on the brother title and Raleigh groans again, in submission rather than pain. He knows there's no winning this battle, so he nods and starts to slink back down the hall. He keeps one hand braced on the wall as he does so, steadying himself in case another round of wheezing hits him. People passing bay in the hall eye Raleigh like he's grown a second head. Mako just thinks they're not used to seeing the usually composed Raleigh Becket _stagger_ down the hall instead of _strutting_ with his normal amounts of swag.

Makos _hmphs_ and turns the other way, continuing on her path to the main hangar. They have new recruits freshly admitted to the academy this month and Mako has been tasked with the job of making sure the jaeger hangar is ready to be seen by them before the Marshal herds them in after his board meeting. Normally, they wouldn't care about the appearance of the hangar, but it's going through renovations at the moment so that it can accommodate the newer jaegar models already in production. She smiles at the thought of new jaegers and new pilot teams, the opportunity to oversee their development making her giddy with excitement. Of course, she knows that none of that would have been possible had Operation Pitfall failed. Which it didn't, by some stroke of insane luck.

Crimson Typhoon had been outfitted with a new arm within hours of the double event. She had an extra appendage ready just for injuries like that, much like how a car usually has a spare tire stowed away somewhere. With the new arm in place and engineers scurrying over her frame to attach metal ligaments and tendons, the Chinese jaegar and her crew were ready for the drop on the Breach just in time. Unfortunately, the damage to Cherno Alpha's helmet was unable to be repaired in time, even with the techs hurrying to repair wiring damage to her frame and engineers locking new metal plates in place. They were an hour or two away from completing the repairs when Scunner and Raiju appeared from the Breach, so they had no choice but to send the jaegers they had.

Before the drop, Newt and Hermann had rushed to LOCCENT, carrying devastating news. Marshal Pentecost was grave as he took in the news of the DNA coding on the Breach, but didn't let any doubt of the mission's success seep through his demeanor. Instead, he adjusted the plan for Striker Eureka's payload and had the techs install a remote detonator. It would allow Striker's pilots to detach the bomb from their jaeger but retain the ability to light it up. With this feature installed, Striker had been able to shove the bomb in Scunner's mouth after Crimson injured the beast enough and blow both Scunner and Slattern to Timbuktu after reaching a safe distance. They had sustained more damage from the resulting blast but survived the remainder of the battle as Gipsy effortlessly took out Raiju with her chain sword and fell with Slattern into the Breach. Herc, who was able to pilot Striker, and Chuck took the escape pods and waited on the ocean's surface for five more pods to show up. Crimson's pods surfaced next, with the triplets loudly shouting and celebrating through their minor injuries. Herc and Chuck didn't share their enthusiasm just yet, as there was no news on whether or not Gipsy's crew was coming back.

If you asked them now, they would say that the only hint they got that Gipsy had blown was the dull vibration they felt in the metal of their escape pods. Other than that, it was silence until Mako's pod surfaced first, followed by a non-breathing Raleigh after moments of intense worry both from those in LOCCENT and out in the ocean. Tendo's voice had cut through their communications, rattling on about another escape pod getting ready to surface near Mako's left, who was already diving in the water and swimming towards the expected surfacing area.

There's a sharp knock on the metals walls, dragging Mako out of her thoughts. It takes her a minute to focus again and realize that she had been on autopilot walking down the hall, but she regains herself and addresses the person in front of her.

Herc stares back at her, smiling slightly as if he is amused by Mako getting lost in her own head. He's wearing his dress blues and is cleanly shaven, his body language suggesting that he's slowly but surely becoming readjusted to wearing the uniform. The medals and ribbons on his chest spell out his deeds for both the RAAF and PPDC and the pins on his lapel show his new rank of Marshal, which he claimed after Pentecost retired from the position.

Mako smiles at him and follows as he turns his back to her, leading them through the large doors and into the hangar where the fresh recruits were waiting after Herc had left them in search of Mako. The eyes of the recruits light up at seeing two of the most well-known jaeger pilots in existence and Mako has to smother the warm feeling in her belly she gets from seeing that. It's embarrassing, she thinks, to be idolized for saving the world. To be placed on a pedestal when her driving force had been a selfish reason like revenge. But she appreciates their affection nonetheless and smiles brightly at them.

 

***

Back in the halls of the Shatterdome, Raleigh Becket fights his way down to the pilot dormitories instead of the medical bay. He reaches his hall and stumbles down to his door, punching in the key code with shaking fingers. When his door finally opens, Raleigh urges himself in and shuts the door behind him, collapsing on his bed moments later. Among the blankets and pillows, there's a old, ratty sweater that still has the name _Yancy_ scrawled on the tag and Raleigh rips off his shirt to replace it with the olive green sweater. With the familiar fabric covering him, Raleigh allows himself to relax, burying his face in his pillows and muffling any cough that claws its way out of his throat. His eyes burn and his nose itches with a sneeze that never comes.

Somewhere in his fevered haze, Raleigh thinks about Operation Pitfall. He doesn't think about the kaiju battle or the anteverse. He doesn't think about blowing his beloved Gipsy to smithereens. Instead, Raleigh thinks about popping back up on the surface in Mako's arms and the way she cradled him. He thinks about getting back to the Shatterdome and to thunderous applause, to hearing Pentecost over the speakers, shouting to stop the war clock. He thinks about going outside after his injuries (fractured tibia, two broken ribs, sprained wrist, numerous cuts and minor, non-life threatening radiation burns) healed to see the city one night, watching it from the 'Dome's metal shores. He thinks about the cool rain that had fallen that night.

Raleigh blames that one night of standing in the rain for his goddamned cold and sneezes again, falling into another coughing fit that has him moaning and turning over in his bunk to face the wall. He presses his forehead against the cold wall and sighs, falling into fitful sleep minutes later.

In his dreams, Raleigh sees his brother. Yancy is smiling at him and reaching out to ruffle his hair. Raleigh feels like a child again, caught up in Yancy's praise and adoration. The connection between them, the drift they once had, seems to spark and flare up when Yancy touches him, and it feels so strong that Raleigh nearly forgets his brother is dead. The dreamscape around them flickers and Yancy removes his hand, the drift severed with the action. Raleigh looks up to Yancy, who's still smiling, and he thinks that he sees a very real emotion flicker across Yancy's face, as if he was more than a fever-induced dream.

Before Raleigh can call out to Yancy, before he can demand answers of the dream, he's shaken awake by a gentle hand on his shoulder and a disapproving huff from Mako, who frowns at him when he blinks his eyes open and turns away from the wall to face her. Raleigh realizes his body is covered in sweat, made worse by the sweater and blankets that he pulled up to his chin during his nap. Mako narrows her eyes at him, no doubt frustrated because he ignored her earlier directions of going to the med bay, and pokes him in the stomach, which has Raleigh groaning and curling in on himself.

"Wake up, _nii-san_ , before I wake you up myself." This is punctuated by another harsh poke to Raleigh's stomach, but the blonde does little more than swat her hand away.

"Raleigh, why didn't you go to the infirmary?"

"Too far."

Mako huffs and pokes him again, catching his wrist when he tries to shoo her away. When he tries to get her with his other hand, Mako jumps on the bed and straddles him, making sure to lock his arms against his sides with her knees. She sits far enough up on his chest that Raleigh can only do so much wiggling in an effort to dislodge her before he tires himself out, aided by his fatigue.

"You know that the medicial bay is the exact same distance from the hangar doors as the dormitories are, just down a different hall."

"Seemed farther to me. Sides', the med bay has too many people. Too loud, can't sleep."

"You do not sleep that much anyway." Raleigh knows this is true, with his insomnia keeping him up too many nights to count since Yancy's death. Part of him feels bad about his affliction, knowing that on some level, Mako has it too because of their drift. They'd been to the Kwoon a few nights too many after their third drift. This knowledge doesn't stop him from making a face and wiggling under Mako again.

"So?"

"So you are going to the medical bay. You've gotten some sleep so there is no need to worry about people keeping you up. Now get on your feet, _nii-san_." Raleigh groans in defeat as Mako gets off of him, keeping a strong hand on his forearm as she tries to drag his bulky frame up from the bed. He grumbles but rises anyway, shuffling out the door when Mako opens it. Raleigh reaches for her hand when she steps out of the room and closes the door, twining their fingers together once she steps up beside him. They make their way to the infirmary together, hand in hand, and if anyone sees the massive form of Raleigh lean against Mako's slight frame for support, they don't mention it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not an entirely shameless fix-it fic now!

In the medical bay, Raleigh has the nurses frowning as they chastise him, claiming that he is an adult and can take care of himself, so there was no excuse for him to have let his cold get this bad. They have him in patient scrubs and laying on a bed with itchy sheets, an IV in his arm and monitors to watch his vital signs. Raleigh fights against the IV but the doctor who is overseeing him, Dr. Frau, gives him that _look_ that meant bodily harm if Raleigh so much as frowns at the needle in his arm.

"Really," Dr. Frau starts as he flips through Raleigh's medical history absentmindedly. "If you think we're letting you off easy, we might need to get your head checked, as well. You do know that your fever just peaked at 109 degrees Fahrenheit thirty minutes ago, correct?"

Raleigh had not known so he looks away sheepishly, mumbling something about feeling fine at the time. He didn't mean for it to get this bad. In all honestly, Raleigh thought it was a simple cold that would blow over on its own. The more he thinks about it though, the more he realizes how bad he feels. He just assumes that he was more focused on other things, more important things, like helping Mako and Herc welcome in the new recruits. Dr. Frau clucks his tongue and hooks the metal clipboard onto the holder at the foot of Raleigh's bed, drawing the pilot's attention to him.

"At any rate, we'll be keeping you here until your fever breaks. Have you seen any hallucinations, Mr. Becket? Such things are not uncommon with fevers like this." Raleigh shakes his head _no_ , choosing to not mention the dream he had. It was just a dream after all, whether or not it was aided by a stupid fever. Beside the bed, Mako is sitting in the chair provided and looks at Raleigh like she knows something is wrong, but doesn't mention it. Dr. Frau nods at Raleigh and gives him a once over before leaving the room, promising to be back when the evening meal is served. When he leaves, Raleigh breaths out a heavy sigh and leans back against his pillows, feeling exhausted as he had in the hall before. His eyelids fall shut, weighted down with fatigue.

" _Nii-san_." Mako's voice is a startling sound in the quiet of the room, but Raleigh only grunts in her direction and snuggles back deeper into the pillows.

"You've seen something, haven't you?"

Raleigh opens one eye to peer out at Mako as his lips settle into a thin line. He sighs again and nods, giving no more than that as an answer. Mako looks down at her hands and bites her lip, wondering if she should ask more. She decides that yes, she should, because Raleigh is her co-pilot, her _nii-san_ , and his pain is her pain.

"What was it?" Or who, she thinks to herself. Raleigh's lips part but no sound comes out for a few moments before he reaches out for Mako's hand, who gladly gives it and tightens her fingers around his. When he does answer, his voice is barely above a whisper and carries years worth of pain in just three words.

"I saw Yancy." Raleigh's hand in shaking in Mako's as he continues on, his voice still quiet. Mako realizes it has a tinge of fear as well.

"He was just there, looking like he did before the drop on Knifehead. He...He ruffled my hair like he used to when we were younger and just fucking _smiled_ at me, like nothing was wrong...And I felt the drift, Mako, like it had never been severed. It was almost like a ghost drift, but stronger, more clear."

Mako frowns, her brow furrowed with worry, and gently ushers Raleigh over on the bed. She climbs up next to him and rests her head on his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart as it beat. His arm comes up to wrap around her smaller frame and they fall to silence, not needing words in that moment. She clutches onto Raleigh and stays there long enough to feel the pull of sleep on her bones. Before she does fall asleep, she thinks she feels a hand in her hair and a kiss on her cheek, but when she looks up at Raleigh, he is already dead to the world with soft snores escaping his mouth.

***

Raleigh finds himself in the dreamscape again. Like before, Yancy is standing in front of him. He's dressed in civilian clothes, looking relaxed and more carefree than Raleigh remembered him being. The drift between the brothers flares up again and their memories flow freely. Unlike last time, Yancy keeps his hands in the pockets of his jeans, but he still grins at Raleigh.

" _You did it, Rals_." Raleigh feels his throat constrict; After years of just hearing his brother's screams, hearing his actual voice is like-

" _I'm proud of you, Raleigh. Really fuckin' proud. Stop dicking around though, got it? Take care of yourself a little more, bro. You got people who care about you, more than just me, and you need to stay strong for them. You need to stay strong for Mako, too. She needs you, Raleigh, just like you need her._ " Yancy walks up to him and smiles gently, reaching up to wipe away the tears from Raleigh's face that he didn't even know had fallen.

" _You don't need me though, Rals. Not anymore. I gotta go, okay? It's my time now and mom's waiting for me on the other side. I promised her I would only stay till' you got your shit straight, and you have. She loves you, always have, always will, and so do I. Got it? I love you Raleigh, and mom and I are so damn proud of you, baby boy. Don't ever forget that._ "

Yancy's hands leave him, leave his face where he had cupped his cheeks and pulled him forward to press their foreheads together. Raleigh wants to cry out, to scream, to yell until his throat is raw and burning and he loses his voice completely, but he can't. He can't do anything but catch Yancy's hands before he pulls away completely and cling to him. Yancy's breath tickles his ear as he chuckles and holds his brother one last time, whispering _it's okay_ into his ear.

***

Miraculously, Raleigh's fever breaks during his sleep with Mako at his side. They had slept through dinner, both waking hours later to find the room dark, save the faint overhead light on the wall behind Raleigh's bed, and a blanket thrown over Mako. Raleigh wakes up because he's cold again and he's covered in sweat, which in turn wakes Mako up because she's already tuned into Raleigh perfectly. They look at each other for a moment before Mako sets her hand on Raleigh's forehead and declares him to be back at a normal body temperature. Raleigh just smiles and nods before pulling Mako back to him despite her protests about his smelly body odor. He laughs and refuses to let her go, feeling weightless and unburdened for the first time in years.

***

When Raleigh is released from the medical bay the next morning, Dr. Frau gives him strict instructions to report back to the infirmary immediately if he feels faint or any indication of another fever spike. After all, he still has a case of the sniffles and a bad cough, with only his fever gone. The doctor lands him with that _look_ again when Raleigh rolls his eyes, but the pilot waves it off now that he's not deathly ill and at the good doctor's mercy. Mako rolls her eyes too, though it's because of Raleigh's antics. She bows politely to Dr. Frau and thanks him for his help, to which he responds: _Any time. I always enjoy tormenting pilots when they land in my med bay. Call it a hobby, Mako-san. Also, make sure to drag that dreary father of yours here soon. He's late for a check-up._

The two pilots of Gipsy Danger walk back to the Ranger dormitories and to their respective rooms across the hall from each other. Raleigh gives Mako a peck on the forehead and a one armed hug before going for his door.

"I have some reading to catch up on," He claims, referring to a old paperback he had found left in the mess hall. _The Giver_ , it's cover said, baring the picture of an elderly man with a beard.

"Oh, just a moment." Raleigh cocks his head to the side and sniffles, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his sweater as Mako disappears into her room. She reappears in the hall with a small bag tied with a drawstring in her hands and holds it out to him, smiling up at Raleigh. He takes the bag and shakes its contents around, brightening up when it crinkles like candy wrappers. When he opens the bag, Mako barely stops herself from laughing at the look of complete and utter disappointment as Raleigh discovers honey and lemon flavored coughdrops instead of the candy he loves so much.

"For your cough, _nii-san_." Raleigh thinks the term of endearment sounds too sweet as it drops from Mako's tongue and scowls at her. "After all, I do not want to be woken in the middle of the night because you're coughing up your own lungs. Do not try to look for your candy, either. I had Marshal Hansen clear your room of them while you were being discharged from the medical bay. No sweets until you have a clean bill of health, _nii-san_!" The last part Mako sing-songs, grinning at Raleigh like the little, mischievous shit she is at the moment. She goes into her room after, leaving Raleigh in the hall with a dumbfounded look slapped on his face.

Still, as he hears her laughter from behind her door, he can't help but crack a smile himself and unwraps one of the coughdrops. The menthol mixes terribly with the artificial flavoring but Raleigh doesn't deny that it does wonders for his throat.

**Author's Note:**

> ~~I am so close to making this an entirely shameless fix-it fic by having Yancy alive somewhere. I'm sure you could tell as much from Raleigh's short dream sequence. I'm going to leave it up to you guys, though. If you want to see the elder Becket alive and breathing, let me know. Majority vote wins.~~
> 
> This is NOT going to be a fix-it fic as far as Yancy is concerned. The vote on whether or not it was going to be one lasted until the second chapter was posted and thereby completing this installment of the series. As of the second chapter, Yancy is dead and passed on. Sorry for the confusion.


End file.
